Maybelline has come under fire for using a bearded man in a beauty campaign, even though the cosmetics multinational has done so in the past.
Maybelline recruited Ryan Vita, a self-described makeup guru, to star in a promotion for a new lip color range, and the company posted a video of the influencer applying the lip gloss on its Instagram page.
Described as a "Maybelline Partner" in the post, Vita's pronouns are "she/he/they," and the expert has 49,000 followers on Instagram and 1.2 million on TikTok. Vita uses the phrase "not like other beauty gurus" as a self-description on Instagram.
However, both Maybelline and Vita have come under fire by social-media users for someone assigned male at birth being in the makeup campaign. Newsweek has contacted the beauty guru by email for comment.
"Another day, another disturbing make-up ad. This time from Maybelline," wrote Blaze TV host Lauren Chen on Twitter.
"Ah, yes. Nothing inspires me to buy makeup more than seeing it smudged on the face of a bearded man," Summer Lane tweeted.
However, there was support for Maybelline and Vita under the company's Instagram post, with one social-media fan writing: "So beautiful!!! (Inside and outside) We love you @ryanvitabeauty."
Vita rose to fame on social media where the expert shares nail and makeup tutorials. Vita regularly reviews new beauty products and is no stranger to partnering with major multinational companies, even working with Amazon Prime in the past.
The backlash to Vita's inclusion in the Maybelline campaign comes amid a current trend of criticizing businesses for going "woke" by partnering with people from minority communities, especially LGBTQ+ influencers.
The most notable backlash was when conservatives boycotted Bud Light for partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, famous for her TikTok series "365 Days of Girlhood". The beer brand celebrated the one-year anniversary of her gender-affirming transition by sending her a personalized can of beer with her face on it.
Maybelline had also previously worked with Mulvaney when it recruited the influencer to do a short, sponsored post in April of this year.
The makeup company had also previously used men in its beauty campaigns, and even has chosen bearded ones to front them, such as Austin (pronouns: he/him), who appeared in a 2022 campaign for the brand.
"I like experimenting with my look and looking pretty. I love drag. I enjoy androgyny and ambiguity. I love the power of makeup. For someone who feels terrible a lot of the time, making myself look good makes me feel a bit more willing to take on the day," Austin said at the time.
Other men who have appeared in Maybelline campaigns include make-up artist, YouTuber, entrepreneur, and beauty blogger Manny Gutierrez, also known as Manny MUA, in 2017. The cosmetics company has also worked with the American beauty YouTuber and makeup artist James Charles.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more
